The words escaped before I could stop them.
Something flickered across his face.
Not sympathy.
Never sympathy.
Annoyance.
“You’ll survive.”
The casual dismissal hurt more than the slap had.
I looked away because if I kept staring at him, I might say something reckless. Something honest.
Unfortunately, honesty and I had never gotten along very well.
Havoc crossed the room and stopped directly in front of me. My body reacted before my mind did, every muscle tightening instinctively as his hand settled beneath my chin and tilted my face toward the light.
I hated when he did this. Hated the way he inspected injuries he’d caused. Hated the way he acted like ownership and concern were interchangeable concepts.
“You’ve got an attitude tonight.”
“I don’t.”
His fingers tightened.
I pu
